Print element process for multilingual communications



United States Patent 3,429,986 PRINT ELEMENT PROCESS FOR MULTI- LINGUAL COMMUNICATIONS Robert A. Rahenkamp, Lexington, Ky., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y.,

a corporation of New York No Drawing. Filed Aug. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 483,343 US. Cl. 1782 2 Claims Int. Cl. H041 23/ 00, 21/04 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process is disclosed for providing a receiving printer with the correct removable and interchangeable type carrying unit of element to print text in the same language and compatible with the text transmitted from a remotely located keyboard device. Prior to transmitting text, the transmitting station sends a code corresponding to the type font required at a receiving station. This code is selected so that it is made up of characters and/or functions which are the same for all type elements and/ or all receivers. The type element corresponding to the transmitted code is placed on the receiving printer so that the received text is exactly the same as the transmitted text.

Because of limitations which were unsolved prior to this invention, teletypewriters for use in communicating in different languages Were special purpose devices. In the prior art the printers at the two terminals were essentially identical, both in keyboard and in the symbols printed in response to the keyboard operation. However, the standard typewriter keyboards used in the various countries of the world differ greatly with regard to which key caused printing of the various symbols.

The prior art therefore required that a teletypewriter operator be specially trained and skilled to use a keyboard different from that found in the country for ordinary typing. Furthermore, it was not convenient or practical to use such a prior art device for ordinary typing of messages in the manner of an ordinary typewriter because the specially trained typist would not be economically used for this purpose. Furthermore, the standardized device of the prior art, because of physical limitations,

did not carry certain symbols of peculiar importance to the language of some countries. Therefore, copy typed for local use on such a typewriter of necessity might be imperfect. In some cases, a machine was constructed having a few of the locally important symbols, but in this case transmission of such symbols or reception of signals calling for the printing of such symbols created imperfections in the messages.

Use of the prior art machine for multilingual communication therefore generally required the production and use of two different machines, one for telecommunications and one for ordinary typewriter use. It is clearly more economic to provide a system which requires only a single machine for such purposes, especially if this system can improve the versatility of the copy and symbols used in multilingual communications,

It is an object of this invention to provide a system in which multilingual telecommunications are readily available without use of operators especially trained for an unusual keyboard.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a system as above described in which the entire font of characters and symbols are available for transmission in any language, thus making possible perfect copy.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a system in which a single machine serves as a multilingual communications terminal and as a typewriter for ordinary use.

In accordance with this invention, each typewriter terminal is one which has the capability of interchanging the type carrying unit or type font. All typewriter terminals are identical in regard to the positioning for printing of a type carrying unit in response to received signals. The terminals respond identically at least in form of display regardless of the different type unit connected into the terminal. In other words, at least some symbol will be printed at a distant station when a symbol is transmitted. A code is established, which code is based essentially on form rather than content. The message originating station sends a message having the form corresponding to the established code for the language in which the message originating station wishes to transmit. As an example, the sending station may send a carriage return, one symbol, a tabulation, two symbols, a tabulation, and two symbols. At the receiving station, the form would be identical, although the symbols printed might be completely different. However, at the receiver a comparison is made of the form received to the established code, and then the type carrying unit is replaced with the one dictated by the code. Subsequent messages received will be identical to those transmitted.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

This invention is useful with any teletypewriter system in which the print element or type font may be interchanged. The assignee of this invention markets a substantial number of typewriters in which the print element is a truncated spherical shell carrying a font of symbols in the form of raised symbols. The typewriter functions by rotating and tilting the print element or head to select the character desired. The print head is hurled bodily into the print station to thereby effect typing of the single symbol selected by the rotate-tilt movement. US. Patent 2,919,002 is'a readily available teaching of this typewriter.

This typewriter, in a form called the Input/Output form, is marketed as a unit capable of responding to signals received from long distance communications. In the Input/Output form received signals trigger solenoids which initiate the print cycle and the rotate-tilt selections. US. Patent 3,082,854 teaches this Input/Output form sufficiently for the purposes here. Additionally, an Input/ Output form of the typewriter above described is publicly available as a teletypewriter terminal for long distance communications of the kind commonly associated with teletypwriters. This teletypewriter system is described in System Operation Reference Manual, IBM 1050 Data Communication System, File No. 10509, Form A24- 3020-3, Major Revision, January 1965.

With regard to the present invention, the significant feature of the terminal is the interchangeability of the type head. Typewriters of the kind above described are presently used in many countries, and these typewriters are basically identical. The key designations and linkage are somewhat different in various countries, however, so as to conform to the standard keyboard of the locality. The type heads also differ in the location of characters used so as to achieve the optimum design and coordination of keyboard and type head for each country. On the other hand, the same types and degrees of rotate-tilt are effected by all of the machines since their selection mechanisms are substantially identical.

In accordance with this invention a form code is established. Thus, an operator in the United States wishing to receive communications from the various countries would leave the most convenient type head on his machine, which would probably be a United States type head. He

would know, however, of an established form of printed display which has been established to represent the various countries. Thus, throughout the world today, the printers above described of the United States, France, Netherlands, Great Britain, Sweden-Finland, Denmark, Italy, Swiss-French, Swiss-German, Norway, and Germany all have the following characters in the identical rotate-tilt position: U, D, C, -L, N, E, K, H, B, M, V, R, O, W, u, d, c, l, n, e, k, h, b, m, v, r, o, and w.

Thus, a combination of these characters can be used as a universal code. The signal could come from any country. The display fCn might be received. The operator at receiving station has no direct rneans of knowing what station originated the message. However, in accordance with this invention the operator will recognize the code as one indicating that the message comes from a French machine. At the transmitting station, an operator using a standard French machine has simply typed out the above code configuration on his keyboard. The United States operator, having knowledge, of course, of the agreed code, would replace the type head of his machine with a French type head. It can be agreed that he would signal this by typing some other code, for example, five C characters transmitted in succession.

The machine located in the United States would then receive perfect French text, identical to that transmitted by the transmitting station using a French keyboard and the French type head. No further adjustments are necessary. 1

When transmitting, the local station almost always will use the type element for which his machine is designed Transmission will therefore be in the local language or in a foreign language having symbols available in the local language.

In this example, the local station is a standard United States machine as described. A station having a terminal designed for use in any language should be contacted over a communications or teletypewriter link by the United States terminal first sending a message preceded by the pre-estwblished code for the United States. This could be uCa. After a delay or after a suitable reply indicating that the heads had been changed at any or all distant stations contacted, the full text of the message is transmitted by typing the message as one would normally type an written matter.

The number of codes available is basically very large, even if the type heads of the various countries do not share similar letters at identical positions as above described. Presently the French-Canadian type head for printers as above described is the only type head known to be available which does not share any character with the other type heads presently available to the world. However, the French-Canadian type head does print a character for each character transmitted and it does go through the identical printer functions as that transmitted. Thus, a suitable code in accordance with this invention could use a combination of characters and functions. Thus, a carriage return, then any two characters, then a carriage return, then any three characters could be the agreed upon code designating the type head of some country, for example, Germany. The display would have the form XXX and would be easily recognized. The receiving terminal would recognize this form regardless of what symbols were printed at each location, and would insert a German type head onto the receiving machine.

It should also be understood that this invention is not restricted to type heads which differ only in spoken language. Type heads especially designed for data processing applications are known, and their selection at different terminals can be accomplished within the scope of this invention.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A process for communicating in difierent languages over a long distance communications link between a plurality of communications terminals wherein at least one receiving terminal is a printing device interchangeably mounting any of a number of different type elements and wherein the type elements contain a limited number of characters which are identically positioned on all type elements, comprising the steps of:

transmitting from one of said terminals on said communications link an established code based upon a form of display which is printed identically by said receiving terminal for all type elements, said form of display comprising at least two of said identically positioned characters;

comparing the received display with said established code at said receiving terminal and inserting the type element indicated by said comparison onto said receiving terminal; and

then transmitting a message on said communications link to said receiving terminal in a language in which said inserted type element is adapted to print. 2. A process for communicating in ditferent languages over a long distance communications link between a plurality of communications terminals wherein at least one receiving terminal is a printing device interchangeably mounting any of a number of different type elements, comprising the steps of:

transmitting from one of said terminals on said communications link an established code based upon a form of display which is displayed identically by said receiving terminal for all of said print elements;

comparing the received display with said established code at said receiving terminal and inserting the type element indicated by said comparison onto said receiving terminal; and

then transmitting a message on said communications link to said receiving terminal in a language in which said inserted type element is adapted to print.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,848,291 3/1932 Hitt 17822 THOMAS A. ROBINSON, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

